Could You Ditch Your Suitcase for a Backpack?

November 15, 2017

I have a bit of an obsession with backpacks. While a lot of people collect designer handbags I have always been all about its practical, spacious sister. Yes I was one of those kids who wore their Adidas backpack around my butt for school and took my red mini-backpack clubbing with me. Even now I can spot at least 5 from where i’m sitting including the Vans bag I wear for lugging my laptop to work everyday and my Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles bag that actually looks like a turtle shell. You could say I’m a backpack aficionado, I love the practicality and the range of styles, so when the chance came up for me to swap my usual hand luggage suitcase for a backpack it was a trade I didn’t even have to think about.

As much as I love my old Vans backpack it’s not the most practical for airline travel, it’s really hard to find things inside as it has no internal pockets and it’s never big enough for everything I want to take. This is where Cabin Zero* comes in. They do a range of colourful, fun and practical backpacks that are just the right size for carry on luggage, so you’re no longer fighting with wobbly wheels, getting caught on passing objects and no longer being selected to have you suitcase stored in the hold! Simply throw it on your back and you’re on your way.

This isn’t just your standard backpack, it’s made completely with travel in mind. I choose the largest in the range with a 44L capacity which is more than spacious but still fine for carry on. It contains a spacious laptop pouch which more then easily fits my Macbook even with it’s bulky case, a must for travel bloggers. It also contains two further internal pouches and one large one one the outside with a lockable zip and the zips are also hidden to deter would be pickpockets for extra security. The pockets mean I can keep my things organised and leave the items I need accessible for the airport in the outside pocket. No more fumbling around trying to find my passport or liquids bag in the security line.

One of the biggest issues with a bigger bag like this is comfort. If you are going to have it full it’s going to be pretty weighty but thankfully the bag is really well padded, especially the shoulder straps. I took it on a short trip to Edinburgh recently and although it was really heavy I barely noticed when it was on my back. It also has side compression straps for stability so your bag is super secure. The outside material is waterproof and I love that it has straps on the top and side as well as the shoulder straps so you can carry it from the top or like a typical suitcase.

A really cool feature of these bags that I’ve not seen elsewhere is the built in luggage tracker. Each bag has a tag with a unique code, you can register this on the Okoban website and the if you ever leave your bag it can be tracked down and sent back to you. I hope I never have to use it but it gives me peace of mind knowing it’s there if I need it. If you need proof that CabinZero really believe in their bags their 10 year warranty should give you some reassurance, and if that’s not enough it upgrades to 25 years simply by liking their facebook page.

CabinZero* have tons of different colours and designs but I just had to have this one in blue and pink. My whole house is a mixture of this shade of blue, mint green and pink and I adore it. It’s the vintage lover in me that can’t beat a pastel shade! Admittedly it is not the most practical shade for traveling but I covered it in a canvas spray to stop stains being permanent. It did pick up a few marks on the flights to and from Edinburgh but they were easily sponged off thanks to the spray.

I am going to be using this a lot in the future, especially for solo travel when I don’t want to be carrying a suitcase up and down stairs on my own, this way I don’t even need to think about it. It makes travel almost effortless and takes another worry from my mind.

Would you ditch your carry on suitcase for a backpack?EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT ALERT!From now until the 20th of December 2017 get 10% off your entire order by using the code CZKARISS182 at check out.

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This bag was sent to me for review, all words and opinions are my own.